When Century first started, I remembered the bak kwa was beautifully charred, warm and fresh when received but my last 2 years of bak Kwa orders, Ive realised they arrived cold (out of the fridge) and vacuumed packed. The standard has dropped vastly and I tried one but it was so disappointing. The lapis was also a letdown and it was from the fridge so cake did not keep well.
Yizhou Wu
5
They're the best I've had.
It's really soft, with a minimal amt of bite, and some textural contrast from the bits of sinew. It's also really smooth in terms of the crumb size
Flavour was strong, there's good umami, which is rare.
Seriously, seriously good. Maybe the only complaint is the price, one piece sells at 5$
Jacqueline See
5
The Bak Kwa is really very good! I buy every year and they are of good quality too. Order in advance to avoid disappointment. I love their bak Kwa and cakes!
Javier Tan
4
Not entirely to my liking but the new flavours for both lapis and bakkwa is interesting! Perfect gifts for CNY!
Xana Tan
5
Ordered this box of assorted Kueh Lapis and Bika Ambon for the office to share, and it was an absolute hit! The decadent layers of pure bliss, with their perfect balance of sweetness and flavours, were simply irresistible!
Kelly NG
1
As a kueh lapis and banana cake lover, I was excited to see Kartini launch their cakes in Singapore under the Century Bakkwa outlet at Wisma Atria. Their Instagram pictures looked promising, and I specially made my way down to try them. Unfortunately, the experience was a letdown. Very disappointing.
Packaging
The packaging looks pretty, but isn’t practical. The box flaps keep coming loose, making it hard to reseal once opened. For cakes meant to be enjoyed over several days, this is inconvenient.
Banana Cake
The texture was the first red flag: it didn’t look like a cake at all.
Instead, after cutting it, I can see immediately that it was almost “wet,” very different from the sample I tried in-store.
While technically baked, it felt like it had been packed before cooling fully, leaving the texture dense and underbaked. Eating it felt more like raw batter than cake.
Easily the worst banana cake I’ve ever tried.
Taste-wise, I appreciated that there wasn’t any overpowering artificial banana flavouring.
But the banana taste itself was faint, and a strange yellowish core tasted slightly sour; unpleasant and confusing.
Kueh Lapis
The kueh lapis fared slightly better, but still fell short. If Bengawan Solo’s version is an 8/10, this would be a 2/10 (or less). It lacked the buttery fragrance and spice aroma that define a good lapis.
The uneven layers suggest it’s handmade, and the price was lower than more established brands like Bengawan Solo or Marie Lapis. But the staff mentioned that the current price is a promo price and the actual price for a 10cm*10cm block is $20!
This means that at full price, it’s the same price as Bengawan Solo. But nowhere near comparable. In fact, even at a discount, it simply isn’t worth it.
Visually, the lapis looked overly bright to me, and on tasting, there was a strong artificial aftertaste (possibly from colouring or flavouring). Personally, that’s a big turn-off.
On the plus side, both cakes weren’t overly sweet, so at least they weren’t cloying.
Service
The counter staff were warm, but seemed inexperienced and uncertain when answering product questions.
Verdict
The marketing is slick. The cakes look enticing on Instagram and give the impression of quality. But my personal experience couldn’t be further from that.
• Banana cake: wet, underwhelming, and unpleasant.
• Kueh lapis: flat, artificial-tasting, lacking fragrance and character.
Pretty packaging and friendly staff aside, the cakes themselves are poorly executed and not worth the price or calories.
Honestly, you’ll find far better banana cakes at neighbourhood bakeries and and much better kueh lapis at established names that specialise in it.
Places like Bengawan Solo, Ollella or Lina Confectionery. These brands are known for their buttery fragrance, spice-forward aroma, and consistent quality… basically everything that was missing here.
I won’t be repurchasing.
Charliee Ng
5
First time buying bak kwa from here and it didn’t disappoint! My girl loved it on the first bite — especially the lychee bak kwa. We loved it too! The lychee aroma and flavour really lingers in the mouth. Slightly on the costly side, but it’s worth getting once a while too.
We also tried the kueh lapis. Not exactly what we expected, but still quite nice overall.
Chefmummytan
5
Century Bak Kwa is just on another level for its quality and taste in my opinion. Me & my family have been enjoying their Bak Kwa since we chanced upon it about 1-2 years back.
My personal favourite has to be the Yuzu Bakkwa which is just so good! And also their bakkwa croffles which we will just drop by their cozy store at Dunlop Street to buy and go.
I love how the team take the efforts to create their packaging every CNY. So presentable to gift it or as collection.
Time to give Century BakKwa a try today.
Apple Lee
5
I’ve been purchasing from Century Bakkwa since they started, and it’s always the best for family and friends. Whenever my guests try it, their feedback is always great! What I love most is that it’s handmade the traditional way. The meat is so tender, and the sauce is perfectly balanced. Also, their packaging is top notch! A special shoutout – I’m especially thrilled to have gotten the Chao Da one because why not? It’s truly the gold! Haha!
Maggie Chan
5
Their signature lycee pork jerky with this new individual packing gives you the best experience in enjoying the mouth watering snack without getting your fingers sticky.
More importantly, the food doesn’t lose the moist or get stuck in the fridge.